Two To Steam
by NerdyLeia
Summary: After the battle of the North, Zuko is left clinging to something he never imagined; A necklace. One that belongs to a waterbender. As Uncle Iroh and him flee from Azula, will Zuko realize his true destiny? Will he help the Avatar? Katara fights emotions torn between someone she should love, and someone she's always feared. Will water and fire mix? It takes two to make steam.


**So, This is my first time writing a fan fiction for this series. I hope you enjoy it. Unfortunately, the document manager wouldn't really let me adjust the layout style, so I'm sorry for that.  
****I do not own ATLA or any of its characters. **

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Flames flickered and danced across her skin in the moonlight.

"Do you know what happens when you mix fire and water, Prince Zuko?" She whispered in his ear; her breath hot and soothing.

Zuko looked at the girl on his bed sprawled out before him, her blue gown moving like waves on the red silk.

"No." He moaned.

The girl held her hand up, water weaving in and out of her fingers like a coin trick. She smiled at him, her eyes blue and dangerous. Gracefully, she placed her hand on his hand that held fire before it sizzled and both elements changed form.

"Steam" she purred, and then kissed him warmly on the mouth.

Zuko sat upright with a start panting.

This was the fifth time in seven days this girl had plagued his dreams, and she was a water tribe peasant nonetheless. He ran his hands through his hair trying to recover from the thoughts that rattled his brain. Breathing deeply, he reached under his pillow and grasped the thing he kept in his chest pocket at all times now; the girls necklace. He didn't know why he kept the trinket hidden, maybe it was out of shame.

He let his fingers glide over the smooth, carved stone. Let the straps caress his palm gingerly. The necklace felt like a good luck charm, but also a curse. At times it felt heavy in his uniform when he was surrounded by his crew.

_Why can't I let you go, stupid girl. _Zuko thought to himself confused.

Shoving it back under the pillow he tried to push her as far from his mind as possible. The way her eyes seemed to pierce him every time they met with almost as much force as her ice daggers. There fight at the north pole came back to mind.

Zuko tried to use the necklace as a bribing tool when the pirates had help capture her, but she wouldn't budge. The Avatar was too important. He felt a pang of jealousy when he thought of how close they were. Slamming his fist on his night stand he accepted that sleep would evade him until sunrise.

_Katara, this spell you have over me needs to go away, water witch. _Zuko thought angrily.

Rising with the sun is when he felt most powerful, but the middle of the night would have to do. Meditation and training would ease his clouded mind. Zuko's boots slipped onto his feet with ease, and for a moment his hand hesitated over his jacket. He could do without it. The cold air would feel good on his burning skin for a little while. Luckily, the tightness in his pants had receded or he would have had to douse himself with frigid water. His body shuddered at the thought. Before he left the room he made sure the necklace was tucked safely in his pocket, against his better judgement.

The metal echoing under his boots was almost comforting as he made his way out of the bunks and onto the deck. None of the crew seemed to be around, and it made the vessel feel like a ghost ship. Zuko was happy with the feeling. Finding the crew of five men, still dedicated to him even after joining the now deceased Admiral Zhao, had been hard after being declared a traitor by the Fire Nation. His Uncle Iroh and Zuko had been saddled with all the blame for the loss at the North Pole. If only they had known what Zhao had done to lead to his own demise.

"_A good leader knows his bounds, a foolish one thinks there are none_," his uncle had said.

He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes, allowing the brisk air to feel his lungs. Zuko spread his legs and kept his feet firm against the ground, his arms out in front of him, palms face up. Slowly he felt the fire working its way from the core of his inner self like the trickling of an estuary meeting a waterfall.

_Water_. The word resonated in his mind.

His eyes flew open and a flame sputtered from his shaking hands before dying. Water was not a good thought to have when you were trying to create a fire.

"My nephew, what troubles you?" A voice asked from behind him.

Zuko spun around to see his Uncle with a warm smile on his face, one hand stroking his beard, the other on his round stomach. Uncle Iroh's normal stance.

"It's nothing," He replied through gritted teeth.

"Something is troubling your chi Prince Zuko, that is why the flame cannot reach your hands smoothly."

Iroh made his way to his nephew from across the deck and placed a caring hand on his bare shoulder. Zuko shrugged it off.

"I'm fine Uncle, I was thinking about the Avatar."

Heat rolled beneath Zuko's skin, the fire creeping from his core picked up it's pace.

"You know Zuko, if it weren't for the Avatar and his friends you would be dead. Perhaps it's time we seek another destiny, live comfortably."

Zuko turned toward his Uncle at a blinding speed with rage glistening in his eyes. How could Iroh not understand that Zuko could never live comfortably until he had restored his honor and was loved by his people once more? It was everything to him. He was the rightful heir to the throne and had it ripped out from under him, surely his uncle understood that. The same man that tossed him from the throne had done the same to Uncle many years ago.

"You know Zuko, maybe you could find a girl, fall in love."

"A girl?" Zuko asked mindlessly.

The waterbender's face appeared in his mind smiling at him and blushing. He wanted to touch her skin, caress her hair, he found himself absentmindedly stroking her necklace.

"No!" He shouted, snapping out of his daze. "There is no time for girls uncle!"

If only Iroh knew that the reason his chi was blocked all the time was because there was indeed a girl he thought of, and he thought of her often. Zuko pulled his hand out of his pocket too quickly, but before he even realized his mistake, the necklace had clattered to the iron ship. Shocked for a moment, Zuko was unable to think or process what was going on. If his Uncle saw the necklace he would know that Zuko had been harboring it so closely this entire time. His Uncle would think him weak for fixating on a waterbender.

Zuko acted swiftly and scooped up the necklace shoving it into his pocket once more, but Iroh's eyebrows already shot up in realization. Something twinkled in his eye and a smile spread across his face.

"Prince Zuko, what was that?" He inquired.

"It was nothing, can we spar Uncle? It's been a while." Zuko said thinking quickly.

Zuko chose his stance that he practiced the most in. He thrust his right foot out in front and extended his left leg back carefully until he was in a warriors lunge position. Facing Iroh, he kept his left hand a tightly balled fist at his waist, and thrust his right fist out in front of him at arms length.

Iroh spread his legs apart at shoulders length, both fists balled at his waist; an odd position for a firebender. Uncle Iroh never ceased to amaze Zuko.

Zuko let the fire flood from his core and shot the first burst from his right hand in a sweeping motion before following suit with his left. His movements were rugged, jerky, and not fully thought through. He reacted over and over again. Blast after blast. Iroh remained grounded waving away every flame in a rotating movement.

"Think Zuko, don't just react." Uncle chided.

He quickly swept his left leg behind him and entered the warriors lunge in one fluid movement, like a dance. But instead of striking with his right like Zuko anticipated, a flame burst from Iroh's left hand and Zuko stumbled trying to regain his footing. Before Zuko could even think of counteracting with a move of his own, his uncle's stance changed once more. This time his right leg was drawn to his stomach and his foot shot out at Zuko lightning fast. Zuko jumped over the blast and was about to land, until Iroh's hand tapped him in the chest and he fell on his rear.

"Always expect the unexpected Prince Zuko."

"I'm sick of your proverbs Uncle!" He rumbled in anger. "How do you do all these things, why don't you teach me those stances?"

"Traveling allowed me to study many types of people nephew," Iroh tucked his hands in his sleeves.

"What does that even mean?" Zuko stood up straight.

"It means that I studied other bending styles, it helped me learn other ways of using my fire, ways most firebenders never bothered with."

"Because we think firebending is the only style worth anything."

The realization struck Zuko harder in the chest than uncles hand had. Nobody would ever expect a firebender to use moves from an earthbender or waterbender. No wonder Uncle always bested him.

"I want to learn Uncle."

"Then you need to let the Avatar go, and we can live peacefully as refugees studying people along the way."

Zuko got in his uncles face so close he could smell the tea on his breath, "you will teach me those moves so I can defeat the Avatar."

Before his uncle could reply, the sun began rising above the water and Zuko started to walk away.

"We will begin before sunset, for now I'm tired."

Iroh shook his head in disappointment,_ Agni, when will my nephew understand his true path? Ursa help me._

For the first time in a while Katara was not a part of Zuko's dream.

He sat on a bench in front of a glistening pond where a group of turtle ducks were splashing happily. The place looked so familiar, but it had been so long since he had been there he couldn't believe it. He was home. Three torturous years since he had smelled the flowers, felt the soft grass, seen the imperial buildings, yet here he was. He was finally home.

"I remember when you hurt them once upon a time." A soft voice pulled him from his revelry.

When that voice reached his ears he knew everything wasn't real.

"My little prince, how long it has been." The woman enveloped Zuko in an embrace.

The embrace was so bittersweet he began to tear up.

"Mom?" He sobbed.

Zuko never cried and he never told anyone his darkest secret, how much he sorely missed his mother. His savior among the wolves.

"Boy why are you crying?" She asked sweetly. "We are here together, you should be happy."

She gently touched the scar on his face, running her delicate fingers along the charred flesh.

"I am so sorry Zuko, I should have never left you at the mercy of Ozai, but I did it to save you." She said quietly; her eyes filling with tears.

"You didn't save me mother, you left me alone with father and Azula." He sobbed loudly, "how could you?"

Ursa stroked his hair softly and hummed a tune he hadn't heard in ages, only now and again from Uncle when he was thinking of Lu Ten. Zuko held onto her tightly and her warmth felt so real, just as he had always remembered.

"Listen my son, you must be strong. You must do what's right. What I fought for before all is lost and Ozai consumes it all." She spoke in hushed tones. "Train the Avatar."

Pushing away from his mother his face contorted in horror. She was asking him to turn his back on everything he fought for and believed in.

"You want me to betray my nation and help the Avatar?"

"Yes, he needs you."

Zuko glared back at the water so his mother would not see the obvious look of disgust on his face. He was already a traitor. He needed redemption.

"My little prince, your father should not be a priority anymore. He has ordered Azula to bring you and Uncle Iroh to prison. Do what is right, or all is lost." Her words echoed in every corner of his mind. "He was going to kill you had I not left."

"Azula always lies." Zuko choked.

"She does, but she was being truthful when she told you what your grandfather had said. Azula is scarred in a way, not physically, but scarred nonetheless. I do not approve of her actions." Her eyes filled with pain. "But I promise you, you will have your rightful place restored and the love of your people back. Help the Avatar."

"I cannot, he is the enemy!" He tossed water into the air.

"In time you will see, I hope. One thing has already touched you to lead you in the right direction." She slipped something in his hands; smiling sweetly. "I believe in you, always."

With her warm lips pressed against his forehead, she began to fade away.

"Mom, no!" Zuko shouted.

"I am always with you." She pointed to his chest, and then she was gone.

Once again she had left the prince alone in his home. The first time it was hard enough, but watching his mother fade away again, it was heart wrenching. He blamed himself for her having to go away, if only he hadn't been born. Zuko thought about what his mother had said about his sister.

Azula was a cruel, firebending prodigy. With their mothers looks she seemed kind, but her eyes gave away her insanity. Her actions were always followed by devastation. She was deadly.

"_Azula was born lucky, you were lucky to be born_." His father's words were a whispering memory.

No matter how hard Zuko trained and fought, she always outshone him, but thanks to his exile he had one thing she lacked; swordsmanship. He taught himself to become skilled with dual blades and as the Blue Spirit he was unstoppable. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. So Azula was tracking Uncle and him now, was that true? They would need to be ready.

He looked up at the moon that now appeared above him, but shifted his gaze to its reflection in the pond. Zuko could not bring himself to think of helping the Avatar at this point. He had to focus on Azula's manhunt for his head. He had to protect Uncle. Ursa had said something already touched him to lead him in the right direction, what had she possibly meant? Suddenly, he felt something heavy in his hands and remembered his mother slipping it in them before she disappeared.

Opening his palms his eyes widened in shock, Katara's necklace sat glowing, bathed in moonlight. It slipped from his grasp and fell into the pond, shimmering as it sank to the bottom. Zuko went to thrust his hand in the water to retrieve it, but before he could even touch the surface, the water began to ripple and twist. He crawled backwards until he hit the bench and scrambled to his feet.

Bursting from the pond stood a girl dressed in nothing but the water itself, her hands moved around her fluidly and her skin gleamed like copper. Around her neck sat the necklace that slipped from Zuko's hand moments before. She smiled at him warmly.

"Together we could make steam Zuko," She whispered, "Help the Avatar."

"Katara," Zuko gasped.

He stepped into the pond unable to control his movements, as if he were a puppet on a string. He closed in on the water she bended and grabbed her in an embrace so warm and tantalizing he almost couldn't handle it. Zuko kissed her for the first time on his own, letting the steam engulf them completely.

"Help the Avatar," she whispered.

And with those final words from her lips, he woke up.

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**Please review, it would mean the world to me. **

**Sincerely,**

**Keely**


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